'He is wasting it' - Kevin Pietersen urges Tom Banton to learn from Virat Kohli

England opener Tom Banton was earmarked as a special player owing to his unorthodox style of play and being aggressive at the top. He came into England’s limited-overs side on the account of playing a fearless and positive brand of cricket at the top in the domestic T20 competitions. In the ongoing The Hundred tournament too, Banton is playing in the same method by looking to take the attack to the opposition.

Cricketer-turned-expert Kevin Pietersen though is not liking the fact of how the youngster is playing by scoring quickfire 30-odd runs and then throwing it away by playing a rash shot. Opening the batting for Welsh Fire, the right-hand batter has got starts but failed to capitalize it for his team. Pietersen is not impressed by Banton throwing away his wickets.

In the last five games in The Hundred competition, the 22-year-old has scored 36, 0, 5, 2, and 15. “He has all the talent but at the moment, he is wasting it. He hits way too many balls in the air. He needs to learn to hit the ball along the ground, learn to hit extra-cover hard, mid-wicket hard. Know there are gaps between fielders,” Pietersen told Sky Sports.

Kevin Pietersen wants Tom Banton to learn from Virat Kohli

Pietersen has urged Banton to watch and learn from the likes of Virat Kohli and David Warner. The former England batter felt Banton has talent but is not utilizing it to the full potential.

“You have to look at the best players around the world. How often do they think, ‘let me just hit it in the air, my release shot is a six’?”

“Virat Kohli, David Warner – look at all the players starring at the top of the innings. They hit extra-cover on the ground for four. How often do you see Kohli hitting sixes all over at the start of his innings? Banton needs to learn from others and keep the ball on the ground, know there are gaps between fielders. [Going for sixes] is not the gaps he needs to go at.”

Pietersen concluded by saying Banton can take a leaf out of his Welsh Fire skipper James Vince and try to construct the innings well.